My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Damon placed a hand on his chest and shook his head before laughing.

”Ahh, Abellona, your sense of humor has really matured these past few years. That was a nice one. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Abellona didn’t even move. She merely lifted one of her smooth, beautiful legs and placed it over the other.

Damon wasn’t a feet guy, but maybe he could be.

”Stop leering at me,” she replied coldly before adding softly, ”I’m not joking. I am pregnant.”

She repeated herself after making sure the entire tent had been sealed with a silencing spell. She wanted to tell Damon herself so he would know what to expect in a few months.

Damon was quiet for a moment, his expression suddenly growing solemn.

”That’s impossible. I made sure to destroy those little swimmers.”

”Well, clearly you missed some because...” She waved a hand toward her stomach.

”Hah? Bah, you’re kidding. Ahh, you’re really yanking my leg. You almost gave me a scare.”

She didn’t make a single expression.

When Damon saw that, he slowly lowered his head.

”My grandfather’s gonna kill me,” he muttered, already imagining the Grand Duke coughing up blood from sheer anger.

”On the upside, this might be the greatest ragebait I ever pull on him.”

He suddenly started laughing again.

”Hahaha, my life is over. Another child? As if the first one wasn’t enough. Ohh, goddess, you test me... No, not the goddess. It’s that bastard.”

Abellona watched Damon muttering to himself while pulling at his own hair.

Then she realized she had actually taken the news better than he had. Why was he even overreacting? It wasn’t like the baby was inside his body and he had to watch his stomach bloat and become bigger to sustain another life.

Damon finally took a deep breath and nodded.

”Okay, I understand. Don’t understand how, but I understand. So, what do you want to do? If you wanna send it back to the sender, I know a guy who knows a guy who does this kind of stuff.”

She glared at him.

Why was he even trying to make light of this? She was just as uneasy as he was.

”Shut up and tell me it’s going to be alright! Comfort me and spoil me already! I’m going through a lot!” she yelled at him, gritting her teeth.

”Right, right. Sorry.”

Damon stood up to give her a hug, but she easily kicked his weak body away.

”Get your body back first.”

”Right.”

He gave her a thumbs-up, a gesture he had learned from his shadow.

Then he sat back up and took a deep breath. Her reaction might have seemed cold, but he could tell from her trembling hands that she wasn’t actually unfazed by all of this.

”So, how far along are we?”

”So far, we are two months in, and I can’t keep it a secret for long. I can always go hide somewhere for a few months, but that won’t be possible because of the war and the fact that I’m a public figure. More than that, I don’t want to have to raise my child like they’re something to be ashamed of.”

”Isn’t that generally what bastards are, or am I missing something?”

Abellona grabbed him by the neck and pulled him closer before whispering softly, her red eyes glowing with a dangerous light.

”Does my child have a father?”

”Yes,” he grunted.

”And who is that?” she asked sternly.

”That would be me,” he gasped.

”Good. Then that means it’s not a bastard, and I’ll kill anyone who calls my child that.”

Damon could feel her cold killing intent.

She was terrifying.

He had a feeling a lot of people were going to die.

”So how do we intend to do this? I mean, if you or I were an ordinary noble, then it wouldn’t be a problem. But you are a member of the Imperial family, a princess competing for the throne, and I’m the current most likely person to take over House Brightwater, a Great House. And we all know it’s forbidden.”

Abellona closed her eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath.

”Yes, I know. I knew that when I let my feelings for you get in the way. I didn’t forget, but I refuse to let my child live in anyone’s dark shadow. I will never accept that.”

She grew quiet for a moment before continuing.

”Blindly following ancient customs does not mean the dead are alive, but the living are dead.”

”These rules were created before we were born. They are not absolute, so I will destroy them,” she declared.

Damon raised an eyebrow before scoffing.

”So what? You’ll depose the Emperor and become the Empress of the Empire, taking the throne and forcing the rules to change? The Great Houses won’t change that rule. Even if they allow you to become Empress, it’s not that simple. Assuming the Emperor even abdicates or lets you take the throne, your siblings certainly won’t be easy to fight, not to mention the nobles who have invested so much into them.”

He told her all the reasons why that wouldn’t work, but Abellona didn’t seem bothered.

”I have the backing of the Great Houses themselves. I have you with the Brightwaters, and thanks to you, I can leverage House Astranova. I’ve built a strong relationship with Emilia, so I can get the Hightowers to join me or stay out of it. The Ravenscrofts are the last ones, but since Emilia is married to Xander, I can expect them to join me or stay out of the way at the very least.”

”So your big plan was to leverage me and my influence along with yours? Are you actually pregnant, or is this just some long thought-out scheme?”

Damon raised an eyebrow.

”Do you want to check?” she asked.

”No, I’m good. What do you want me to do?”

”Nothing. Worry about getting your body back.”

He nodded as he listened to her plan.

After about half the night had passed, Damon finally stood up to leave. He looked back at Abellona before stepping toward the entrance.

”You’re going to be okay, right?” he asked.

”I’ll be fine. You should worry about choosing a name for our baby.”